If "Arrested Development" is indeed going down, then it's going down on its own defiantly left-field terms.

In the show's latest bit of inside-joke casting, Justine Bateman -- the older sister of star Jason Bateman -- will guest-star on the FOX series scheduled for Monday, Jan. 9. She's filming the episode this week.

Some time ago, "Arrested" creator Mitch Hurwitz joked that he'd like to bring Justine Bateman on the show as a love interest for her brother's character, Michael Bluth. That won't be the case in this episode. Instead, she'll play the far less cringe-inducing role of Michael's long-lost older sister Nellie.

Justine Bateman, who became famous as Mallory Keaton on "Family Ties" in the 1980s, more recently starred in the Showtime miniseries "Out of Order" and the Hallmark Channel movie "The Hollywood Mom's Mystery." She's also put in a couple of guest appearances on CBS' "Still Standing" over the past two seasons.

Her episode of "Arrested Development" may be one of the show's last. FOX has decided against a full season of the show, which has aired six episodes so far this fall. The week following Bateman's episode will bring two hours' worth of "24," and the unscripted show "Skating with Celebrities" takes up residence in the 8 p.m. Monday timeslot after that.